NT-87-18-3 -- Turning Fume Hood Diversity into Energy Savings

Fume hoods are essential for the protection of researchers in today’s laboratory. The cost of treating air that enters the building to replace that which is exhausted through these hoods is enormous. Nonetheless, there has been a general reluctance to modulate the flow through hoods for fear that the safe sanctuary would be compromised. Relatively few laboratories have been designed to take advantage of the diversity of fume hood usage.

Recent control systems have been developed and applied that secure the safe environment for the fume hood operator and facilitate reduced energy consumption. This paper summarizes the actual operating savings from a 200-hood chemistry laboratory building at a university.

Units: I-P